Prophetic Misnomer?
Re: Prophetic Worship
Dan suggested that charismatic Christians, and me in particular, might use the word "prophetic" too often for ideas that may be spiritual but are not specifically prophetic. (Disclaimer: This post gets into Christian theology via examples from my personal experience. It's not intended for non-Christians and it might seem weird to non-Christians and Christians alike.)
Well now, let's discuss the meaning of the word prophetic, shall we? From what I understand, there are two general kinds of prophecies. The first is a message and the second is blessing. If we concentrate solely on the prophetic from God then the messages can be used to warn or instruct the church or the world, and blessings are meant to build up the church and speak life to the world.
Not being an educated scholar on this matter, I'm guessing that such a simple summary might be a little too simple. Ah well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So when it comes to musical worship, how can an instrument by itself and without words be used as a prophetic voice?
In stories like David's ministry to Saul, it shows that music can help alleviate oppression from Satan over another person. In today's context, that might apply to times that I'm standing on stage while someone at the altar is struggling with something. If I'm on my congas, I might beat out some warfare rhythms over that person. Alternatively, if that person is dealing with depression then I might break out something more hopeful, something to symbolize God's light starting to pierce the darkness. I suppose the first kind would be intercessory worship, while the second kind is a prophetic message to that person. (Dan's comments in my previous post about mis-use of the word prophetic would come into play here.)
At other times, the congregation may be silently praying as we wait for the Holy Spirit to move. Sometimes in situations like this, I might bust out a sudden smack-down on my drums, alerting everyone to pay attention. Prophetic message. Other times, I might gradually build up a rhythm, crescendoing over ten seconds or 10 minutes, indicating to everyone that the time to wait is over and the time to participate is beginning. That's not prophetic so much as worship leading, though it is a message.
I've heard of one person that walked through the crowd at an altar, playing a violin over people and seeing them healed as a direct result. That might be considered a prophetic message of healing, but maybe that is better considered prayer for healing.
An example of prophetic blessing through music might be times when someone on a piano plays something for a person, telling them that God thinks that they're beautiful. Or it might be a comforting tune, telling a person that God cares and that God is there for them.
So when I reflect on the various examples above and the messages that I give during worship, I think that Dan has a good point in suggesting that I applied the term "prophetic" too liberally. I do use musical worship expressions to give prophetic messages and prophetic blessings to people, and those things I would label as prophetic instrumental worship. At other times, there is a spiritual power in my worship that is certainly inspired but I should not use the term "prophetic" in describing it. Thanks, Dan.
On a more general note, we can take certain acts of worship like raising our hands and assign different meanings to the same motion. Raising our hands with our palms up might mean surrender to God, but it might also mean that we're receiving God's blessing. In the same way, similar expressions on a musical instrument can mean different things, depending on the person playing.
'Nuff said?
3 comments:
JAG,
Thanks for thinking about this and writing it all down. Going public with our theology certainly requires a certain amount of willing vulnerability.
Let me clarify one thing: I wasn't suggesting that "charistmatic Christians, and me [JAG] in particular, might use the word "prophetic" too often," rather, I was suggesting that charistmatics might use it to often, and your prior post was merely an example of that.
I find your post to be intriguing. I think that your statement that, "At other times, the congregation may be silently praying as we wait for the Holy Spirit to move. Sometimes in situations like this, I might bust out a sudden smack-down on my drums, alerting everyone to pay attention. Prophetic message" might actually be one of my favourite blog quotes... ever.
I would continue to challenge the ways that you blur exorcism, healing, blessing, and prophesy. I wonder if you are not confusing those categories to a certain extent -- but there can definitely be an inter-relatedness to those things. You've got me thinking about ways in which music may be used prophetically. And since I haven't spent to much time thinking about music or the way in which we engage in communal "worship" that's certainly a good thing.
Much love and respect.
Thanks for the response, Dan. You probably have a point in saying that I'm still mixing up or blurring the lines between a few theological concepts.
The main reason I wrote the initial post was because some people that I speak to are not even aware that there is spiritual power in instrumental worship. I may have explained it poorly, but at least I can get a few people thinking about it.
And I agree, I found the smack-down line pretty funny as well, though maybe not for the same reasons. heh.
Of course, I am quick to add that blurring theological conceps does carry serious implications for the ways in which we live our lives (sometimes people talk about "blurring theological conceps" implying that they have no interest in engaging in hyper-techincal scholastic debates they really don't matter for Christian living... I'm not sure if that was your implication).
That said you make a good point about the spirituality of music and I agree with you. I should also add that, despite my critique (what movement don't I critique?), I have a lot of respect for the charismatic movement.
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